72 | Innovation in Crisis: Thinking Differently During the COVID-19 Pandemic | with Mike Wiseman

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and the world started shutting down, people suddenly had a whole bunch of new needs that they didn’t have before. As a result, people and organizations were forced to pivot and innovate so that they could not only survive the crisis but help people with their unique set of skills.

So, what does that kind of forced pivot look like within a big organization? And how can we prepare kids now to be able to think more flexibly and respond positively to a crisis? That’s what we’re going to find out in this episode with Mike Wiseman, the Senior Chief Engineer of Strategic Research at Honda R&D Americas.

We unbox:

• What does the “R&D” in “Honda R&D Americas” mean?
• The Odyssey Project
• What does Honda have to do with Learning Unboxed?
• R&D decisions in moments of crisis
• How Honda is positioning itself to help people during the pandemic
• Answering the question: What do people actually need during COVID-19?
• Retrofitting Honda Odysseys for the pandemic
• The learning opportunities that Mike and his team have when they were forced to pivot
• How do you prepare people to not panic when confronted with a crisis?

Resources:

• Check Out STEMStreaming! A FREE online resource for educators and parents to engage in virtual learning! 
• Read: “Honda Responds to COVID-19 with Support to Customers, Honda Associates, Business Partners and Local Community Organizations”